The Three D's of Plant Protection - Certified SoftWash Roof Cleaning

Michael Derose · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

The Three D's of Plant Protection

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Let's talk about...

Divert,

Dilute,

Decontaminate,

Are we on to something?

AC

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Mike,

I am getting calls almost on a daily basis from soft wash pros being burned from using bags on down spouts. What is your take on this???

AC

Ed Thompson · Freshmen Member

Question to AC: when using Plant Wash we get tempted to use some before the job to pre-empt any overspray. It would seem to make sense since the product alleges to offer a barrier for drippage on the leaves. Would we be simply wasting product in doing this?

AC Lockyer · Administrator

SoftwashNJ wrote:
Question to AC: when using Plant Wash we get tempted to use some before the job to pre-empt any overspray. It would seem to make sense since the product alleges to offer a barrier for drippage on the leaves. Would we be simply wasting product in doing this?

Ed,

You are more than welcome to use it before and it may offer some benifit, however it was not designed for that. Like some who hand broadcast it dry onto grass and have had good results I dont advertise that as a lable use however I can not argue with the benifits.

I know these uses may increase use which hurts my feelings :( NOT

Just be prudent and understand that ever too much of a good thing can cause damages sometimes.

AC

Steve Salley · Junior Member

We have been using AC's recommendation to use a gutter cane, and so far we have not damaged any plants this year. We have been pre-watering as this drought has all plants thirsty.

I think a ground person who is really paying attention can prevent a lot of burns on plants.

We also have been very careful not to create a lot of run off in the gutters.

I have the liberty of being the only softwash pro in town, so we get premium prices that have allowed us to stay onsite longer, so we can water a bit longer.

I am sure when we run the full schedules you guys do, we will have to change our methods somewhat to get everything done in a day's time. For now, we will water water and water some more...

Danny Cronauer · SoftWash Systems Certified

Bagging gutters, has its place. I think people get burned bagging gutters, because they don't rinse out the gutter after it has been bagged. When I originally started I bagged gutters, now I run the gutter cane through the majority of the time. If a down spout empties into a shrub bed, than I would bag it, if it empties into grass, I say just run lots of water.

Dan

Michael Derose · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

AC
Do you mean they are burning up plant life after they remove the bags? If you run water thru the gutters after you remove the bags and wear gloves when removing you should be ok. The only problem i have is when you run the gutter can sometimes the water pressure is no enough for the ground man to rinse all the landscape. So we Pre wet, bag, Spray, wet while spraying, and on most jobs, depending on placement of gutter downspout rinse the gutter out with the guter cane then we apply the plant wash librally.

Now im not saying we dont have damage but it is minimized. I just think no matter how much water you use if the plant gets hit with enough SH it will burn no matter how much water you use. There is not one person that can say they have Zero damage. That would just be a false statement. But there are ways to minimize and fix what ever damage has been done as long as you get to it right away.

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Mike,

I think most who are bagging are not rinsing after the bags are removed. It gives a false sense of security.

AC

Michael Derose · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

True. It dosent take that long to throw a gutter cain in after the bags have been removed.

AC Lockyer · Administrator

michael derose wrote:
True. It dosent take that long to throw a gutter cain in after the bags have been removed.

Correct. I just wish people would. Plant damages are the biggest neg in this biz. I just did a trade show where Roof-a-Cide was 6 booths down from me and every single person who came to my booth asked about plant damages.

AC

Michael Derose · SoftWash Systems Certified Applicator

Thats becuase plant damage is thier only selling piont. They do not tell people that they must treat the roof every year in order to keep it clean for more than 1 and a half years. Also i believe they use pressure as well.

Danny Cronauer · SoftWash Systems Certified

I have been trying a new technique with the gutter cane. Its all about the gutter cane placement. I put the gutter cane in about 2 feet from the downspout, I then aim the gutter cane back up the gutter away from the downspout. This builds up a dam of water, in the gutter. This dam collects all of the solution from the roof deluding it drips into a gutter. Because the dam isn't perfect, some water goes down watering the grass, the rest of the very deluded dam slowly circulates around the gutter cane, and then flushed down the spout. This works extremely well when there is only one downspout, but will also work with 2 downspouts by dividing the amount of mix coming down the roof.

Dan

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Apex Roof Cleaning Wilkes-Barre PA wrote:
I have been trying a new technique with the gutter cane. Its all about the gutter cane placement. I put the gutter cane in about 2 feet from the downspout, I then aim the gutter cane back up the gutter away from the downspout. This builds up a dam of water, in the gutter. This dam collects all of the solution from the roof deluding it drips into a gutter. Because the dam isn't perfect, some water goes down watering the grass, the rest of the very deluded dam slowly circulates around the gutter cane, and then flushed down the spout. This works extremely well when there is only one downspout, but will also work with 2 downspouts by dividing the amount of mix coming down the roof.

Dan

Dan,

What we really want to know is have you killed anything at a gutter down spout now since you are using the Gutter Cane????

AC

Danny Cronauer · SoftWash Systems Certified

I don't want to jinx myself, but no I can't say that I have.

AC Lockyer · Administrator

Apex Roof Cleaning Wilkes-Barre PA wrote:
I don't want to jinx myself, but no I can't say that I have.

That's a great testimony!

AC